March 15, 2016: Elective censorship

An Instagram user had their account disabled after posting photoshopped images of various US presidential candidates. The platform also later removed a post containing a screenshot of the author’s tweet about the above-linked article.

Facebook’s Community Standards states: “We allow photographs of paintings, sculptures, and other art that depicts nude figures.” Despite this accommodation for nudity in art, the artist behind a nude portrait of US presidential candidate Donald Trump entitled ‘Baby Dick’ was banned from Facebook.

An Australian study has found that keyword censorship on Instagram surrounding eating disorders can actually be counterproductive. “In spite of Instagram’s efforts to control the expression of these unhealthy behaviours, the number of supporters of anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders still increased by up to 30 percent,” reports Australian Network News.

A Germany advertising agency created a clever campaign called “Check it before it’s removed” to raise awareness of breast cancer while pushing the limits of social media free expression. Reports AdLand, “The campaign is you sharing the picture on your social media, and your friends will soon see when it's removed.”

The suspension of an Australian activist’s Facebook account has sparked outrage. The activist’s account was removed after she posted images of Aboriginal women in a cultural ceremony.

Will the push for more social media regulation by the Bolivian government lead to increased social censorship? Global Voices has the latest from the field.